Since he's been around, I've seen: Tom Brady split out wide, catching a touchdown pass from WR Troy Brown. (might be misremembering this one) Troy Brown playing both ways, and now Julian Edelman doing the same. Linebacker Mike Vrabel as goal-line fullback and tight end. Kevin Faulk doing freaking everything. Every coordinator who leaves the system becoming a shit head coach, unless they come back to the Patriots and reclaim their brilliance like Josh McDaniels. I'm beginning to suspect they're all just Belichick's double agents. The ridiculousness of the 2007 offense, and running up the score no matter what. That weird freaking Statue of Liberty play in the 2007 divisional round. And now, TE Aaron Hernandez as running back and Tom Brady punting the ball on third fucking down. It's evil. It's brilliant. It's brilliantly evil. I love it.
Brilliantly evil, what? This all sounds like good strategy for the most part. Why is running an unorthadox play "brilliantly evil"?
<a class="postlink" href="http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/7475210/2012-nfl-playoffs-new-england-patriots-aaron-hernandez-practiced-tom-brady-sat" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/i ... -brady-sat</a> Brady not practicing and half the Pats are on the injury report. That is a little interesting. Also, Eli Manning has "stomach bug" and missed practice. I think Brady knows that the Ravens are going to give him a physically challenging game (read: beat the shit out of him), so they are just giving him some extra time to rest and study. Eli, on the other hand, is a legit concern, because he does not miss many practices, especially not in the playoffs.
Also, never ever ever take a Bill Belichick injury report at face value. Because half the time his reason appears to be either "How can I fuck with them this time?" or "Well fuck you, that's why." See: QB punt on 3rd down when up 35, Flutie drop kick, etc.
Yep. Yet another thing Belichick does to screw with people. List half the friggin' team as "questionable" and then have them all playing on game day. The Flutie drop kick is one of my favorite plays ever in the NFL. There was no reason for it, other than Flutie knew how to do it, and Belichick wanted to let him snag a little gem in the history books and try something new - the consequences of missing on that game actually meant something. I always enjoyed watching Flutie play even if he was never a dominant, elite QB.
I guess weather will be a factor, because you can't trust weather more than 2 days out here. Snow on Saturday, game day temp right around freezing.
If Eli wins another Super Bowl over my Patriots, I'm hiring Dr. Rob to treat my depression. I was going to school in New York when that happened, surrounded by Giants fans. They'll never stop letting me hear it again. Given the fact they went 11-5 with a back-up who turns out to be a pretty solid QB in Matt Cassel, I'm not exactly sure this dynasty will fall until Belichick is gone. This is where I flip the knock on the Patriots having a system on its head (even though having a system isn't a bad thing, all good things run on systems), because I bet Ryan Mallet will be able to come in and keep them contenders. The Patriots will pick up Tim Tebow and end the world.
Counting chickens, are we? Sounds like someone isn't given the Ravens defense (and offense) much credit. Don't get me wrong, I think the Patriots will win on Sunday, but I don't think it'll be as much of a foregone conclusion as it was against Denver. Considering that they were 1-2 against other playoff teams in the regular season (their lone win coming against Denver), I'm curious how well they'll do against the Ravens.
Even as a Patriots fan, I have to second Rob's point. 3rd in yards allowed, 3rd in points allowed, a fair number of takeaways, and 2 Pro Bowlers in the backfield. This is a very good team in Baltimore if the decent version of Joe Flacco shows up that day.
I actually took two days off after that game. The monday after, I shut my phone off since all the messages were asshole friends rubbing it in. The funny thing is, I would never want them to go undefeated again. Games just weren't fun anymore. Once they got into the playoffs undefeated, I didn't so much enjoy the wins as I was relieved that they didn't lose, if that makes any sense. Shit, I wish they would've lost the infamous Baltimore game (holy shit timeout? what?). Most enjoyable season? It's a toss up between 04 (everybody and their mother gets hurt, team beats a 15-1 Pittsburgh team thanks to Rodney motherfucking Harrison, Corey Dillion has one of the most underrated beast mode seasons of all time, TROY BROWN AT CB FUCKERS) and of course 01, which left a smile on my face for a solid month (few remember this, but the AFC Championship game against the Steelers was absolutely bonkers. Bledsoe coming back in? Punt return for a touchdown by Troy Brown? Blocked field goal for a TD with, once again, Troy Brown being involved? fuck yes)
Yep. I never count the Ravens out going into any game. Their defense is just too disruptive, and Ray Rice is a damn talented back.
ESPN had an article/interview with some of the Ravens. The general idea was that this was their year to shine. When else have the Colts and Steelers been out of the playoffs this early and the Pats had a one dimensional team with such a poor defense? They have quietly built a head of steam and have this feeling that this is the year they "take it to the house" because there are none of their traditional rivals standing in their way. Also, given the age of some of the leaders on the team, this could be legitimately their last chance for another crack at the Super Bowl. I think Baltimore is coming into this game a lot hungrier than the Patriots and will probably find a way to shut down the Pats. Either way, this should be one damned fine game of football.
Being a Patriots fan, I am a bit worried about Baltimore this weekend. I'm not worried about the Patriots scoring on that defense, but rather Ray Rice eating that defense alive, circa '09 season. Also, if anyone thinks the Pats organization has forgot about that drubbing, at home, they are very mistaken. Least amount of turnovers wins this weekend. I'll take New England, 31-27.
NBC Sports just reported that the Rams will play a home game in London in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Interesting. Might be trying to create a fan base overseas and generate more revenue. Or maybe they're distancing themselves from StL, hoping to move to LA or London.
How is half the board patriots fans? As much as I hate to say it, they're probably the favorites at this point. If the pats manage to get a leg up early, I don't trust Flacco to keep them in it. The defense is going to have to play damn near perfect to win tomorrow. I keep thinking how interesting it will be if the giants manage to pull through. The comparisons between Eli and Peyton would be hilarious to read. 'Sure, Peyton has all those numbers, but Eli won more super bowls!' I think the 49ers will show up and not make the same mistakes GB did. They don't have the all star talent at certain positions the packers do, but they're a more well rounded team right now. I have a feeling that game is coming down to the final possession, not as sure about the ravens/pats though.